Right Next Door | Vinnie Hacker

07

"Val I-" He starts.

"I..like you." He says nervously.

I stand there silent unsure of what to say or react.

"You don't feel the same way.. I'll go." He says as he goes to leave.

"No, Vinnie. Wait." I say grabbing his arm.

"I do feel the same way." I say as he turns around and smiles.

I smile back as I let go of his arm.

"What does this mean for us?" He asks.

"We can take it slow." I say as he nods.

He lifts me up onto the kitchen island and he pulls me into a tight hug.

He rests

We stay there for a few minutes before we were interrupted by,

"I knew it!"

We hear as we pull away and see Evelyne, Rowan and Alayna standing there.

Me and Vinnie look at each other and laugh.

I slide off the island and walk over to them.

"Are you dating?" Rowan asks.

"No!" I say crossing my arms.

"Looks like it." Alayna says.

"Well we're not." I say looking over at Vinnie with a smirk.

"Ew, that's my brother!" Evelyne says gagging.

"Shut up." I say as they laugh.

•••

Me and Vinnie are laying on the couch watching his favorite anime.

I'm personally not a fan of anime, but he loves it so it's fine.

I'm resting my head on his shoulder while I play with his rings on his fingers.

"I'm hungry." I say as my stomach grumbles.

"Wanna order food?" He says pausing the TV.

"Yes." I say lifting my head up.

"Ow! Crick, crick!" I whine.

"Were we laying there that long?" He says with a laugh.

"Shut up! It hurts." I say rubbing my neck.

"What do you want me to do?" He asks.

"Order me food. Food makes everything better." I say.

"Okay, okay." He says getting his phone.

"What do you want to eat?" He says scrolling through options on DoorDash.

"Chinese!" I say as my eyes widen.

"Alright." He says as he starts adding to his order.

"How do you know what I get?" I ask confused.

"I've known you for.." He starts as he counts on his fingers.

"Fuck it, your whole life. We always get Chinese, I've had to get it plenty of times." He says.

I nod as he finishes ordering.

"It'll be here in 40 minutes." He says putting his phone up.

I get up and start walking upstairs before,

"Where are you going?" Vinnie asks.

"Getting a blanket, I'm cold!" I reply.

I grab my favorite purple blanket and go back downstairs with my blanket.

I lay back on the couch placing the blanket over both of us and get comfortable.

My eyes get heavy and I drift off to sleep.

•••

Vinnie's POV

I hear soft snores and look over to see Valerie asleep.

I kiss her forehead and watch the show until the doorbell rings.

Ding

I got up quietly and grabbed the food.

I set it on the table and walked back over to Val.

"Valerie, the foods here." I whisper gently shaking her.

Her eye lids fluttered open and she wiped her eyes before using her arms to help her sit up.

"Okay." She says as I helped her off the couch and brought her into the dining area.

I grab everything out of the bag as she pulls out a chair and sits down.

I slide her the sesame chicken and egg rolls and I pull out the chair beside her and sit down.

She smiles before opening the takeout box and tearing open a utensil bag.

•••

Valerie's POV

I ate until I was full.

Once I got to that point I closed up my takeout box and put it in the fridge.

I reached into the bag and grabbed two fortune cookies.

"Can we open these together?" I say handing one to Vinnie.

"Yeah." He says as we tear open the packaging.

"1, 2, 3!" I say before we break the cookies in half.

"What does yours say?" He asks.

"An agreeable romance might begin to take on the appearance." I read from the small piece of paper.

"This cookie is spying on me!" I say.

Vinnie laughs.

"What does yours say?" I say looking at his piece of paper.

"A beautiful, smart, and loving person will be coming into your life." Vinnie reads from the strip.

"I think she already has." He says looking over at me.

I blush slightly before looking away hiding it.

"I saw that." He says laughing.

"You saw nothing!" I say crossing my arms.